Gnome Punting Preseason Begins!
It’s that time of year again! The 2009 Gnome Punting Preseason has officially begun!
In a hard earned and well deserved double overtime victory last season, the Thunder Bluff Booty Booters claimed the first ever back-to-back championship by defeating the Durotar Derrièrelaunchers 5-4. It was a game that will go down in infamy. With one memorable instance of fan interferance, and a questionable call coming in the final moments of the game, some fans and skeptics around the world can’t help but wonder if the game was in fact fixed.
With ten minutes remaining in the game, a drunken dwarf sprinted out onto the field. Diving at a Durotar player, the boligerant fan was able to block what may have been a crucial punt. Instead, the Durotar player was forced to redo his kick, inadvertently fumbling the gnome in his hands and shanking it far to the left out of bounds. It was what many believe to be the turning point in the game.
Then, in the final moments of the overtime puntout, a player from Durotar unleashed a furious boot! The gnome traveled 278 yards before landing in a spot that marked the second farthest punt of all time. In a play that should have pulled the Durotar team ahead, the kick was blown dead with the referee claiming the player’s foot crossed the launch line. An instant replay disproved the call.
The 2009 season seems to be shaping up nicely. With several off-season moves made by numerous teams, it will be interesting to see who emerges as the favorite come the start of the season next month. While the blockbuster off-season deal involved the controversial cross faction trade of Lionel Longfoot from the Camp Taurajo Tailstrikers to the Kharanos Keisterkickers, here are some other noteworthy trades and injuries around the league:
- Russell Sprout was traded from the Nestlewood Hills Heinieheavers to the Mudssprocket Gnomerockets for Brock Lee.
- Corey O’Graff was traded from the Ahn’Qiraj Tushbarrage to the Fenris Isle Fannyflingers in return for Marty Graw.
- Quincy Q. Moar of the Gnomeregan Gahhowcanwedothistoourselves was placed on the 60 day disabled list with turf toe.
YEA! Go Booty Booters!
I am sorry, but I simply cannot see this game as anything but barbaric.
Dear Sarafeena,
instead of looking down of the traditional dwarfish as well as gnomish (yes, you heard me right!) sport, perhaps you should have first regarded the matter more closely.
While the initial kick might hurt, flying through the air, not bound to gravitation, is a magnificent experience you certainly wouldn’t want to miss. Flying high above the crowd, higher than a gnome ever will be…
Falling back on the ground is an art itself. You need to roll over in time or you might get never stand up without aid of artificial mechanical limbs again. However, it is a part of the challenge without which the game wouldn’t be the same.
Sincerely yours,
gnome mage Azhora (disqualified from the Punting Preseason for using the spell Slow Fall)